Format: Hardback
Published by: Allison & Busby
Published: 16.05.24
Synopsis:
London, 1873. Madeleine Brewster’s marriage to Dr Lucius Everley was meant to be the solution to her family’s sullied reputation. After all, Lucius is a well-respected collector of natural curiosities, his ‘Small Museum’ of bones and things in jars is his pride and joy, although kept under lock and key. His sister Grace’s philanthropic work with fallen women is also highly laudable. However, Maddie is confused by and excluded from what happens in what is meant to be her new home.
Maddie’s skill at drawing promises a role for her though when Lucius agrees to let her help him in making a breakthrough in evolutionary science, a discovery of the first ‘fish with feet’. But the more Maddie learns about both Lucius and Grace, the more she suspects that unimaginable horrors lie behind their polished reputations.
Framed for a crime that would take her to the gallows and leave the Everleys unencumbered, Maddie’s only hope is her friend Caroline Fairly. But will she be able to put the pieces together before the trial reaches its fatal conclusion?
My Thoughts: (spoiler free)
Rating ****
Firstly many thanks to the published for sending me a proof copy and to Helen Richardson for kindly inviting me to be part of the blog tour.
This was a read which intrigued and drew me in, an evocative read set in Victorian London, the writing brings the period to life on the page, you get a real feel for the sights and sounds. A dark, moody, atmospheric read.
Madeleine is married to Dr Lucius Everley, at first I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this on the surface it seemed a strange arrangement but then slowly you come to understand more of them as characters, a family full of dark secrets
The characters really felt as though they belonged to Victorian London, superbly drawn out you get a sense of both the good and the bad. The majority of the characters are black and white in outlook, you either love or hate them. There is a dark and sinister motivation behind their actions which the author beautifully draws out and plays on. They are all well rounded and give a real sense of belonging.
I found it a read which tackled some difficult subject matters, you also have to remember the times in which the book is set, I felt myself asking many questions as I read on
The book moves seamlessly between two time lines, the author challenges the reader to connect the two, as the pace of the story picks up and the truth starts to unfold so the tension rises, in what is an intricately layered story
This is a chilling gothic tale with a touch of the macabre, I found this to be tense read, it also a book which to take in every word and embrace the quality of the writing, The research undertaken shines through the narrative, making for a compelling read
This is a different type of read for me, but is was deeply satsyfying, the darkness within the book kept me intrigued throughout.
About the Author:
Jody Cooksley is an author represented by literary agent Charlotte Seymour at Johnson & Alcock.
In 2023 she won the Caledonia Novel Award with The Small Museum, a chilling Victorian thriller that’s due for publication with Allison&Busby in May 2024. Sequel to follow in 2025.
Previous novels include award-nominated The Glass House, a fictional account of Victorian pioneer photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron (Cinnamon Press, 2020), and How to Keep Well in Wartime (Cinnamon Press, 2022)
She is currently working hard on her next novel, another Victorian gothic set by The Thames. She has previously published essays, short stories and flash fiction.
Jody works in communications and lives in Surrey with her husband, two sons, two forest cats and a dangerous mountain of books.
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